Kevin Klein's Response to the Winnipeg Police Headquarters Inquiry

I want to thank Premier Wab Kinew for releasing the final report of the Winnipeg Police Service Headquarters Inquiry before the civic election. When I wrote to him urging that the report be made public so voters could see the findings, I trusted he would do the right thing. I am grateful that he has.

The Commissioner called it a sad tale of mismanagement, misconduct and misrepresentations. That description is exact. At his news conference, he confirmed the project should have cost $43.3 million less. Forensic accounting established the city was overcharged approximately $42 million by Caspian and a further $1.3 million through the Triple D scheme. Courts had already found Sheegl accepted a civil bribe connected to the project.

Mayor Gillingham will almost certainly say this did not happen on his watch. That is true of the original misconduct. It is not a defence of the last four years, or of the twelve years he has spent on council. Not enough has been done under his tenure to ensure this never happens again. The culture at City Hall has not changed. Transparency has not improved. An independent KPMG review done for the inquiry this year still found that the city’s systems lack adequate rigour and guidance for large-scale projects in the $100 million to $500 million range. Urgent gaps remain. Several recommendations from the 2014 audit are still only partially completed or unaddressed. That is the record after more than a decade of the same voices saying the city has learned its lessons.

We must also ask what is happening with the North End sewage treatment plant. When Scott Gillingham joined the Executive Policy Committee in 2015, the project was estimated at $795 million. It is now estimated at $3.1 billion to $3.2 billion. That is more than a fourfold increase on the largest project in the city’s history. The same inquiry that examined the police headquarters also heard that the city’s controls for large projects remain inadequate. Residents have a right to know whether the lessons from the $43.3 million overpayment are actually being applied to this one. As mayor, I will immediately have the North End treatment facility finances reviewed by a third party to ensure there are no concerns.

As a councillor, I asked for a third-party forensic audit of the police headquarters project. Scott Gillingham, then finance chair, and former mayor Brian Bowman said it was not necessary. They pointed to the city’s own KPMG audit. We now know a full forensic accounting should have been done many years ago. The inquiry’s forensic work is what finally established the scale of the overpayment. Residents were denied that clarity for years because the people in charge at the time decided an independent forensic examination was unnecessary.

The Commissioner has given the city 25 recommendations. The most important include independent quantity surveyors who must see full subtrade contracts and invoices before certifying payments, stronger council oversight of large projects, and expansion of the Integrity Commissioner’s mandate so that senior executives — statutory officers and department heads fall under independent review. These practical tools protect the city’s integrity.

I have long said the mayor is the CEO and councillors are the board of directors of a large corporation. Both have a fiduciary responsibility to the residents of Winnipeg. That responsibility was not met when a forensic audit was refused. It has not been met when the structural changes needed to prevent another overpayment have not been locked in. And it is not being met if a project that started at $795 million is now more than $3 billion without the strongest possible controls in place.

As mayor, I will ensure the city follows the same rules as a major corporation. I have been a CEO of a major corporation. I am the only candidate who understands what is necessary and has experience upholding fiduciary responsibilities. I will put proper checks and balances in place, including clear paths for whistleblowers to go to the ombudsman or the Integrity Commissioner. I will implement every recommendation in this inquiry report and the 2026 KPMG review. I will expand the Integrity Commissioner’s authority to cover senior executives. I will begin the process to eliminate the Executive Policy Committee or, at minimum, require rotating councillors to serve on it each year so that no small group holds permanent control. Every councillor must share responsibility for the decisions that protect taxpayers.

Better days are ahead for Winnipeg with change that makes sense. That starts with implementing the inquiry’s recommendations and changing the culture at City Hall.

During the release, the Commissioner singled out four city employees who showed exemplary conduct and repeatedly tried to protect the city: Abdul Aziz, Inspector Randy Benoit of the Winnipeg Police Service, Barb Davion, Manager of Purchasing, and Jason Ruby, Manager of Finance and Administration. Their efforts were largely ignored. Having an ombudsman and Integrity Commissioner will ensure employees like them never again have to choose between doing the right thing and their jobs.